Dog additions, farm updates, Mama

Mama is going back this morning to get one more dog: a little female, cousin to the male we got, to have a pair of the dogs for future use. We decided not to get more than the one since it would tie up too much money to try to sell the four or five we would not be keeping. I certainly do not want to be stuck with more than two of these brutes. I have to keep cautioning Mama and Victoria that these are going to be really large dogs even though it is hard to imagine it right now.


Victoria is getting quite attached to the little male and Mama is already worried that these dogs will not think of her as Mama – the way Rosie does. That will change as we are around them more in the future. For right now, I need for Victoria to be the unquestioned authority in their lives. It really is making her happy to have the little ones to give her attention to. I only hope when her husband finds her that she likes him as much as the dogs.

We are going to have a bonfire at the farm tonight. The ground is moist enough to handle a fire and we have a lot of things to burn, Most of the stuff is remnants of the garage we just tore down. We have salvaged about all that can be reused or repurposed from the building and now it is time to clear the building site so we can repurpose that. I am planning on staying out on the farm well into the night to keep the fire going and, hopefully, to see what animal is trying to dig into the chicken coop. It has been many years since I have done a night watch over chickens. I am looking forward to the assignment. I only wish the dogs were old enough to be there with me since I am not tuned to hear the things they would. I am praying that the burros will come tomorrow or Saturday so we will have some consistent protection over the livestock we are accumulating.

Tomorrow Grandpa and I will put up at least two walls on the pig building and take a load of scrap iron to Bridgeport to be sold. The latter will give us an idea of whether or not we can do any good selling the scrap off of the farm. There are thousands of pounds of junk needing to be hauled off or dumped in a hollow – our preference is to haul it off. Grandpa is hoping to recoup enough money to get a couple pigs and enough feed for several months. We will see if it works out that way.

Mama and I will be going home late Saturday. I am looking forward to being in my bed again. We are sharing a double or full size bed now; a far cry from a king size bed. I am not sure why it is called a double size since a king is the size of two twin mattresses. Pastor Miller once told me that the full or double designation comes from being the size of two crib mattresses. If so, it must never have been intended for two adults to share. Thank God someone thought of queen and king size mattresses.

Mama is getting better slowly. Evenings are tough for her. The sinus infection has her pretty worn out by then. Nights are tough for us both since she has real trouble breathing. She has been taking Nyquil in its recommended doses so she is able to sleep most of the night; not so much for me, but it is getting better. I will be off tomorrow so I will not be as concerned about the hours of sleep gotten or not gotten.

Saturday morning Grandpa and I are going to an auction to see what things sell for. Neither of us has any money to spend so it will be for information only – at least that is the plan. There are several items of interest to us, but I need an idea of relative worth in order to know if the price in an add is a good price or not. Grandpa is often a big help in that area; at least in the times his price structure is current rather than a decade or more out of date, which we often laugh about.

Chase is enjoying having the truck even though, with the transmission problem it has, he drove almost the entire way home in first gear – at 25 miles per hour. My teenager, tearin’ up the roads.